After Advent Children (oneshot)
by AN1m3l0ve
Summary: A sweet short story after Advent Children, featuring Cloud and the kids. Enjoy!


Just a Sweet Oneshot based after advent children. Enjoy!

It was quiet tonight, and as he sat at the bar in 7th heaven drinking his Bourbon and reflecting, he heard a rustle next to him, and when he glanced over, he saw his childhood friend Tifa, there. With the defeat of Sephiroth for the second time, all was quiet. A lot of destruction had been wrought upon Edge, but the people would just pick up and rebuild like they always did.

"Cloud? What are you thinking?"

The soft voice caught his attention, and he thought for a second, before deciding to tell the truth.

"I was thinking about everything that happened. Zack, Aerith, and Sephiroth. I couldn't save Zack, or protect Aerith. Even Denzel got caught up in this mess. How am I supposed to protect everyone?"

At that thought, Cloud grew silent, and stared broodingly at his Drink, before finishing it and putting it on the bar. Then Tifa spoke up.

"What's done is done. You might not have been able to protect them back then, but you're stronger now. Plus, you're not alone. We're here to help you protect everyone, so stop thinking like that!" Tifa stood up and after taking a last sip of her drink, put her glass and Cloud's in the sink, and went upstairs. Cloud stared after her, and was about to head up too, when he felt a small impact on his leg. Startled, he stared down to see Marlene, with Denzel next to her.

"Are you going to stay home tomorrow Cloud?" exclaimed an excited Marlene. Denzel, who had fully recovered from his Geostigma, stared at him with pleading eyes. Cloud thought for a second, before making up his mind

"Tomorrow, why don't we go visit Aerith's church?" said Cloud quietly but solemnly.

"Can we? You'll come with us?"

Nodding, Cloud continued, "but if you want to go, we should go to bed early, and we can spend all day at the church tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay!" shouted both children, before dashing upstairs, with Cloud following more sedately behind them.

"Tifa, I'm going to take the children with me and visit Aerith's church. Do you want to come with us?"

With a smile, Tifa looked up from her bed where she had been reading, before shaking her head. "I have to get the Bar ready for the lunchtime rush, but you guys have fun out there for me, got it?" she said cheerfully.

With a nod, Cloud decided to take his own advice and fell asleep quickly. The next morning, as he sat finishing his coffee and waiting for the kids to get up, he decided to go check on Fenrir, to make sure there was nothing wrong with the bike. As he was finishing his final touches on a quick tune-up, he heard a noise inside. Putting away his tools, he put his leather gloves back on and stepped inside. The children were chatting away with Tifa as they finished their breakfast. As soon as Denzel spotted him he spoke up.

"You're going to take us to the Church still, right?"

Cloud nodded quietly, and with an excited shout, both kids ran outside. After letting Tifa know they were leaving, Cloud followed the kids outside, and after putting Marlene on Fenrir first, got on behind her and helped Denzel climb on behind him, so they could use him as an anchor.

They got to the church after 15 minutes, only to find out that a giant Hedgehog Pie had decided now was the right time to sit himself in the middle of the "doorway" and not let anyone in. Quickly pulling to a stop a distance away, Cloud got off and pulled out the First Tsurugi.

"Stay here, okay? I'll take care of the monster and be right back," Cloud told the children after they got off the bike.

He quickly but calmly walked up to the monster, which was twice the size of a regular Hedgehog Pie. As he got close, the monster shifted to a battle stance, before hoping over in an attempt to headbutt him. Quickly dodging to the left, he used his right hand to bring the Tsurugi up and hit the monster across the face, sending it flying. Before the monster could recover, Cloud dashed after it, and performed a Cross Slash on the monster, defeating it in record time, despite the size. After it faded away, Cloud sheathed his sword, and returned to the children, only to see a couple of low-life thugs harassing the children.

"Awww, come one, you brats are rich, with your daddy's fancy motorcycle. You guys can afford to give us a few gil, right? If not, we'll just beat the snot out of you and take the motorcycle," sneered one of the thugs, using his size to intimidate the children. But that was all that Cloud needed to hear. Walking up behind the thugs silent as a cat, he tapped on one of the thug's shoulders.

"Waaah!" shouted the thug, before Cloud took him by the front of the shirt, with an angry expression and a threat in his Mako eyes.

"Don't you dare show your face here again," he said in a low voice, loud enough to reach the other thug. With that simple threat, he heaved the thug over his shoulder and using his enhanced strength, threw him 20 feet, where the thug landed on his face, before getting up and scrambling off. The other thug, who had been watching the exchange, ran off when Cloud glared at him, with a look of terror on his face.

"Are you two alright?" asked Cloud in a gentle voice.

"Wow Cloud, you were amazing!" squealed an excited Marlene, while Denzel was quieter, but no less excited on his face. "You defeated the monster and protected us from those thugs! That was awesome!"

Cloud smiled gently, before beckoning the children to go before him. As the children dashed off to the Church, one word struck Cloud in particular. Protect. Then he realized that while he couldn't protect everyone, he could protect the people most dear to him. As long as he tried his hardest, no one would ever die again, and his family would be safe.


End file.
